JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — There are now 40 people who remain unaccounted for a week after a massive tornado hit Joplin.
Mike O’Connell, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the number of unaccounted “just dropped” to 40 because of the latest deceased whose next-of-kin have been notified. The number had stood at about 100.
More than 130 people have been reported killed in the storm that hit Joplin a week ago.
The tornado — an EF-5 packing 200 mph winds — injured more than 900 people. Tallying and identifying the dead and the missing has proven a complex and sometimes confusing exercise for authorities and loved ones.
President Barack Obama was traveling to Joplin on Sunday to visit with survivors and family members.
